The Family Game(76)

‘It’s a beautiful morning,’ she says, singsong, as she lays out freshly brewed coffee and a selection of pastries.

‘What’s everyone up to this morning?’ Edward asks from the bathroom doorway. He’s shirtless, with a towel about his waist.

She blushes noticeably as she lays the cutlery and plates, pouring us two steaming cups of coffee. ‘Mr Robert is in his office. Mrs Eleanor is in the Orangery. Your brothers are planning on fishing this morning. Jimmy is preparing the kit in the boot room.’ She looks up at Edward. ‘Shall I ask him to prepare your things too?’

‘No, thank you, Sylvia. I think I’ll show Harriet around today. Maybe we’ll take lunch in the snug? Is it free?’

‘It is, sir.’

‘Say 1:30?’

‘Perfect,’ she smiles. ‘And, er, I don’t know if you’ve been told, but the children are staying in the keeper’s cottage with Nunu tonight. Something about staying up for Santa,’ she adds with a knowing smile.

‘God, Nunu is a saint,’ Edward remarks, causing a sharp flirtatious giggle to erupt from Sylvia. Sometimes I forget how attractive Edward is until I see him in action and it’s like a kick in the head.

‘Oh, and Ms Erikson is swimming,’ Sylvia adds, seemingly without judgement. Edward’s gaze snaps up.

‘What, in the lake?’ Edward asks, clearly taken aback.

Sylvia nods slowly. ‘She’s Scandinavian,’ she offers, by way of explanation, then shrugs, leaving it at that. We grunt our understanding. Swimming in freezing water in the snow makes a little more sense in that respect.

The breakfast served and the whereabouts of the entire Holbeck clan accounted for, Sylvia takes her leave.



* * *



After breakfast, Edward and I trek out into the garden bundled up in layers, our breath fogging in the cold air. Edward leads us out across the crunchy snow towards the bulk of the maze.

‘There’s a trick to the maze,’ Edward says with a smile as we approach its entrance. ‘Want to hear it, or prefer to try your luck first?’

From the driveway it looked fun, but standing right in front of it, its size really hits home and I find myself wondering what would actually happen if you did get stuck inside it. The densely packed hedges making up its walls must by over fifteen feet high. It’s unlikely you could climb it or crawl through it if you had to break the rules.

‘I don’t know. Be honest: how hard is it?’ I ask.

He raises an eyebrow. ‘Hard.’

‘Well, then, I think I’m going to need the trick. It’s going to be a long day otherwise.’

Edward lets out a laugh. ‘Yeah, maybe a maze, my family and a treasure hunt is a bit much for your first Christmas.’

In front of the maze’s opening, I notice a small wooden sign at knee height with the words ‘Enter Here’ hand-etched onto it.

‘Creepy,’ I say.

‘Yep,’ he says with a sigh. ‘Now imagine being seven and having to celebrate Krampusnacht here.’

‘Bloody hell.’

‘Exactly,’ he says. ‘Now, the trick with mazes is…’ he says, lifting his right hand in demonstration. ‘You know this one, right?’ he says, checking.

I shake my head and then he places his right hand on the maze wall. ‘In that case, this works on most mazes. It certainly does on this one. Keep your right hand on the maze wall from start to finish. No matter what happens, you keep that hand on. Dead-end? You keep your hand on the wall and walk around. All the walls are connected, you see, so if you follow one wall all the way through, you’ll get there in the end. It’s a much longer route, but it’s a route.’

He starts walking, his gloved hand brushing loose snow from the hedging as we disappear into the towering green maze. ‘FYI, this method is particularly useful if you’re running away from something terrifying and it’s pitch black. At least, it was when we were kids,’ he adds with a self-depreciating laugh.

He’s talking about Krampuses long passed, but I can’t help but feel the very real possibility of this advice becoming necessary at some point during my stay.

‘And you’re certain this method works?’ I ask, casting my eyes up to the high edges of the maze walls.

‘Yeah, it’ll get you in and out. But it only works on a simple maze,’ he says.

‘Wait, this is a simple maze?’ I say, pulling him up.

‘Simple maze is a term. It doesn’t mean it’s easy; it’s a technical description of the structure. A simple maze is a maze with one connected wall. A complex maze has bridges, unconnected walls. To get out of one of those you’d need to use Trémaux’s Algorithm.’

I look up at Edward, suddenly getting a glimpse of what his childhood must have really been like.

‘Trémaux’s Algorithm? Bloody hell, Ed. How many you been stuck in?’

‘Enough,’ he says with good humour. ‘I won’t bore you with Trémaux. Unless we go to the place in Rouen, it won’t become relevant.’

As we turn the next corner, I bump directly into a sweaty, red-faced Lila.

‘Jesus Christ,’ she yelps, grabbing her throat. Wet hair pokes out beneath her thick bobble hat, her cheeks flushed with cold and exertion. ‘Oh my God. Thank God – people,’ she gasps, letting out a convulsive giggle. ‘How the hell do you get out of this fucking hedge? I was on a call with Milo’s dad and I wandered in here. Thought the distraction might calm me down. It did not,’ she declares, shivering deeply. She must be absolutely freezing after her swim.